So I've been wanting to write up a little something about Mika's new album ever since it came out, but for the two weeks since it came out stateside I just haven't been able to figure out exactly what I wanted to say.

See, Mika is a very significant musical artist for me; probably one of my favorites. I first heard his debut album "Life In Cartoon Motion" at a crazy and happy point in my life. It was my first year of college, I finally felt like I was coming into my own as a person, I was in a relationship, making lots of new friends, making lots of art that I was excited about, and the almost childlike, effervescent enthusiasm present in "LICM" matched all of those feelings to a T.

His sophomore album "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" had a much more evolved sound - There was a little bit more melancholia, the feeling of a little more maturity. That album came out the same month that I was going through a really difficult break-up, a crisis about what I wanted to do with my life, my career choices... That album will always hold a special place in my heart because it really became my anthem and my soundtrack to get through that tricky time. I also believe that, as a whole, "TBWKTM" is a much stronger album than "LICM." When listening to "LICM," I often find myself skipping about a third of the songs - Mika's ballads and sad songs on that album just feel overdone to me and don't mesh tonally with everything else. "TBWKTM," on the other hand, is an album that I listen to all the way through every time - I like all of the songs on there and love the way the whole thing's laid out.